The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is naming names with a list of 39 U.S. Senators and 193 Congressmen whose votes for dirty air and water make them “Dirty Air Villians.” The named members of Congress not only have voted against clean air laws, but have taken large campaign contributions from polluters. Another 99 Congressmen and 43 Senators are on another list, the “Clean Air Heros.”
NRDC Action Fund analysis found a strong link between campaign contributions from polluters, and votes against clean air legislation. Congresspersons who took more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from career polluters also voted against clean air laws nearly twice as many times as those who accepted less than $100,000 from dirty industries. In the Senate, those who took more than $500,000 in campaign contributions from career polluters, voted against clean air laws three times as often as those taking less.
A large number of the Dirty Air Villians, 48 Congressmen and 25 Senators, represent districts in towns and cities the American Lung Association (ALA) have ranked as the 25 most polluted cities in the U.S.A.
Heather Taylor, director of the NRDC Action Fund, said: “Our analysis reveals the full extent of Big Polluters’ reach into Congress, where some members, especially in the Tea party-influenced House, do not miss a single opportunity to side with the dirty industry, leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. Our data will help people send a strong message to office-seekers: We want representatives in Congress who put the public first, not polluters. Before going to the polls on Nov. 6, every concerned citizen should get the facts at www.WhoVotesDirty.org
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Alright then, how does the NRDC define a Dirty Air Villian? The analysis hinges on 13 “clean air votes” in the House of Representatives, and four such votes in the Senate. Those who voted against each are labeled Dirty Air Villians, while those who voted against each are labeled as Clean Air Heros. Additionally Rep. Boehner is counted as a Dirty Air Villian for having scheduled the votes.
Visit the Website (www.whovotesdirty.org/) for more information.
The full list of Congressmen and Senators identified by the NRDC is:
Colorado:
- Dirty Air Villains: Reps Scott Tipton (R-CO3), Doug Lamborn (R-CO5), Cory Gardner (R-CO4) and Michael Coffman (R-CO6).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO1).
Florida:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Reps. Sandra Adams (R-FL24), Vern Buchanan (R-FL13), Ander Crenshaw (R-FL4), John Mica (R-FL7), Richard Nugent (R-FL5), Bill Posey (R-FL15), David Rivera (R-FL25), Tom Rooney (R-FL16), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL18), Dennis Ross (R-FL12), Steve Southerland (R-FL2), Cliff Stearns (R-FL6), Daniel Webster (R-FL8) and Allen West (R-FL22).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Reps. Theodore Deutch (D-FL19), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL20), and Alcee Hastings (D-FL23).
Illinois:
- Dirty Air Villains: Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL6), Joe Walsh (R-IL8) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL11) (each of whose districts overlap with the 18th dirtiest MSA in the US for soot pollution) and Randall Hultgren (R-IL14), Donald Manzullo (R-IL16), Robert Schilling (R-IL17) and John Shimkus (R-IL19).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL4), Michael Quigley D-(IL5), Bobby Rush (D-IL1) and Janice Schakowsky (D-IL9).
Iowa:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Reps. Tom Latham (R-IA4) and Steve King (R-IA5).
- Clean Air Hero: Senator Harkin (D-IA).
Michigan:
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- Dirty Air Villains: Reps. Dan Benishek (R-MI1), Bill Huizenga (R-MI2), Justin Amash (R-MI3), Fred Upton (R-MI6), Tim Walberg (R-MI7), Mike Rogers (R-MI8), Candice Miller (R-MI10) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI11).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Reps. Hansen Clarke (D-MI13), John Conyers (D-MI14), Dale Kildee (MI-5) and Sander Levin (D-MI12).
Nevada:
- Dirty Air Villain: Rep. Joseph Heck (R-NV3).
- Clean Air Hero: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
New Hampshire:
- Dirty Air Villain: Rep. Frank Guinta (NH-1).
- Clean Air Hero: Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
New Mexico:
- Dirty Air Villain: Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM2).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and Rep. Ben Lujan (D-NM3).
North Carolina:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC2), Virginia Foxx (R-NC5) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC10).
- Clean Air Heroes: Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Reps. Brad Miller (D-NC13), David Price (D-NC4) and Melvin Watt (D-NC12).
Ohio:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH8) and Reps. Steve Chabot (R-OH1) (whose district includes the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN MSA which ranks 21st in the nation for Ozone pollution and eighth for year-round particulate pollution), Jean Schmidt (R-OH2) (whose district includes the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN MSA which ranks 21st worst for Ozone pollution and 8th for year-round particulate pollution), Michael Turner (R-OH3), Jim Jordan (R-OH4), Robert Latta (R-OH5), Bill Johnson (R-OH6), Steve Austria (R-OH7), Patrick Tiberi (R-OH12), Steven LaTourette (R-OH14) and Jim Renacci (R-OH16) (both of whose districts overlap part of the Cleveland-Akron, OH MSA which is the nation’s 14th most polluted for year round soot), Steve Stivers (R-OH15) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH18.)
- Clean Air Heroes: Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Reps. Betty Sutton (D-OH13) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH10).
Pennsylvania:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Patrick Toomey (R-PA) and Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA3), Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), Patrick Meehan (R-PA7) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA16) (whose districts include the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA which is ranked 16th worst for ozone pollution and 10th worst for year-round particulate pollution and #22 for Short-term particulate pollution), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA8), William Shuster (R-PA9), Thomas Marino (R-PA10), Lou Barletta (R-PA11), Charles Dent (R-PA15) and Timothy Murphy (R-PA18)(whose district includes the Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA MSA which is ranked 20th for ozone pollution and 6th for Year-round particulate pollution and #6 for Short-term particulate pollution).
- Clean Air Heroes: Robert Brady (D-PA1), Mike Doyle (D-PA14), Chaka Fattah (D-PA2) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA13).
Virginia:
- Dirty Air Villains: Reps. Scott Rigell (R-VA2), Randy Forbes (R-VA4), Robert Hurt (R-VA5), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6), House Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA7) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA9).
- Clean Air Heroes: Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11), James Moran (D-VA8) and Robert Scott (D-VA3).
Wisconsin:
- Dirty Air Villains: Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI1), James Sensenbrenner (R-WI5), Sean Duffy (R-WI7) and Reid Ribble (R-WI8).
- Clean Air Hero: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI2).
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